Hosea 13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Relentless Judgment on Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.(A)
2 And now they keep on sinning
and make a cast image for themselves,
idols of silver made according to their understanding,
all of them the work of artisans.
“Sacrifice to these,” they say.[a]
People are kissing calves!(B)
3 Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
or like the dew that goes away early,
like chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
or like smoke from a window.(C)
4 Yet I have been the Lord your God
ever since the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and besides me there is no savior.(D)
5 It was I who fed[b] you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought.(E)
6 When I fed[c] them, they were satisfied;
they were satisfied, and their heart was proud;
therefore they forgot me.(F)
7 So I will become like a lion to them;
like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.(G)
8 I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs
and will tear open the covering of their heart;
there I will devour them like a lion,
as a wild animal would mangle them.
9 I will destroy you, O Israel;
who can help you?[d]
10 Where now is[e] your king, that he may save you?
Where in all your cities are your rulers,
of whom you said,
“Give me a king and rulers”?(H)
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and I took him away in my wrath.(I)
12 Ephraim’s iniquity is bound up;
his sin is kept in store.(J)
13 The pangs of childbirth come for him,
but he is an unwise son,
for at the proper time he does not present himself
at the mouth of the womb.(K)
14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where are[f] your plagues?
O Sheol, where is[g] your destruction?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.(L)
15 Although he may flourish among rushes,[h]
the east wind shall come, a blast from the Lord,
rising from the wilderness,
and his fountain shall dry up;
his spring shall be parched.
It shall strip his treasury
of every precious thing.(M)
16 [i]Samaria shall bear her guilt
because she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.(N)
Footnotes
Hosea 13
The Message
Religion Customized to Taste
13 1-3 God once let loose against Ephraim
a terrifying sentence against Israel:
Caught and convicted
in the lewd sex-worship of Baal—they died!
And now they’re back in the sin business again,
manufacturing god-images they can use,
Religion customized to taste. Professionals see to it:
Anything you want in a god you can get.
Can you believe it? They sacrifice live babies to these dead gods—
kill living babies and kiss golden calves!
And now there’s nothing left to these people:
hollow men, desiccated women,
Like scraps of paper blown down the street,
like smoke in a gusty wind.
4-6 “I’m still your God,
the God who saved you out of Egypt.
I’m the only real God you’ve ever known.
I’m the one and only God who delivers.
I took care of you during the wilderness hard times,
those years when you had nothing.
I took care of you, took care of all your needs,
gave you everything you needed.
You were spoiled. You thought you didn’t need me.
You forgot me.
7-12 “I’ll charge them like a lion,
like a leopard stalking in the brush.
I’ll jump them like a sow grizzly robbed of her cubs.
I’ll rip out their guts.
Coyotes will make a meal of them.
Crows will clean their bones.
I’m going to destroy you, Israel.
Who is going to stop me?
Where is your trusty king you thought would save you?
Where are all the local leaders you wanted so badly?
All these rulers you insisted on having,
demanding, ‘Give me a king! Give me leaders!’?
Well, long ago I gave you a king, but I wasn’t happy about it.
Now, fed up, I’ve gotten rid of him.
I have a detailed record of your infidelities—
Ephraim’s sin documented and stored in a safe-deposit box.
13-15 “When birth pangs signaled it was time to be born,
Ephraim was too stupid to come out of the womb.
When the passage into life opened up,
he didn’t show.
Shall I intervene and pull them into life?
Shall I snatch them from a certain death?
Who is afraid of you, Death?
Who cares about your threats, Tomb?
In the end I’m abolishing regret,
banishing sorrow,
Even though Ephraim ran wild,
the black sheep of the family.
15-16 “God’s tornado is on its way,
roaring out of the desert.
It will devastate the country,
leaving a trail of ruin and wreckage.
The cities will be gutted,
dear possessions gone for good.
Now Samaria has to face the charges
because she has rebelled against her God:
Her people will be killed, babies smashed on the rocks,
pregnant women ripped open.”
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson